Brother or enemy?
by Smile or else
Summary: After Leo is captured by the foot, will the Shredder kill him? Torture him into giving him information? No slash or anything. I don't own anything. Rated T only for blood... and possible death
1. The Capture

alright, here it goes...

Special thanks to 'Who am I. Well. I'm just Me' for helping me out with the idea. :)

* * *

"Raph, why can't you just accept the fact that Splinter made me leader?" Leo tried to reason with his hothead brother.

"I can't because you're a failure!" Raph hissed in retort.

"Raph..." Leo raised his voice in warning.

"You fail at everything, Leo. You couldn't even fight off the foot ninja when we were at April's! Face it, Fearless, you're useless."

Raph then punched Leo in the jaw and stalked into the dojo.

Mikey, who had watched it all unfold, walked over to a shocked Leo. "Bro, don't take it seriously, he and Casey had an arguement and Raph is in major cranky pants mode right now."

Leo, to shocked to speak, nodded and went to his room to meditate.

* * *

3:00 AM...

Leo groggily dragged himself downstairs to find Mikey playing Gear of Wars.

"Mikey, please go to sleep, it's three in the morning and we have training at eight." Leo said.

"Dude, just I'm almost done, give me another hour." Mikey said.

Leo pulled the plug to the TV.

"DUDE! I spent six hours playing that and I just lost all my progress! What is wrong with you?! Raph's right! You are a failure!" Mikey stormed off to bed.

As much as Leo tried to think that Mikey was sleep deprived and didn't mean anything he said, the words struck like a knife.

Leo dragged himself back to bed, it was going to be a long day.

* * *

The next day...

After dragging himself through practice and lunch, he notched that Don wasn't at lunch.

He threw together a deli sandwich and walked into the lab.

"Don, I..."

"Quiet, Leo, I'm about to finish something that might help penetrate the Shredder's body suit."

After a minute, Don took the tube and poured it on a piece of scrap metal. When nothing happened, Don cried out in rage.

"NO! I was sure I had it!"

"Maybe this is a bad..." Leo began.

"Shut up, Leo! I don't care about your dumb sandwich! Just get out before you mess something up like you always do!" Don saw the hurt flash across his eldest brother's face and, unlike his other brothers, immediately regretted it.

"Leo... I"

"I'm going to go get some air." Leo quickly ran out of the lair.

When Leo reached a certain distance, he began to quietly cry. What did his brothers have against him? He loved them but now, he was considering theirs.

He couldn't get their hateful words out of his mind.

He heard a noise and looked up, four or five foot ninja were standing on the rooftop next to him. In a matter of seconds, more appeared until he was completely surrounded.

Leo immediately took defensive position. Suddenly, a voice rang out.

"Leonardo, long time, no see." The Shredder stepped forward.

"Shredder." Leo prepared for an onslaught of attacks. When nothing came, he looked up and saw that the Shredder wasn't even raising his gauntlet.

"Get him to foot head quarters."

Leo kicked a foot ninja about to grab him and leaped over another. He was soon overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. They eventually got him pinned down and squirming to get free.

"Let's go." Leo was then dragged to foot headquarters.

* * *

At the lair...

"I'm worried, Leo should have been back by now." Don sighed. He felt bad about blowing up at his brother.

"Yeah, I'm really worried." Mikey agreed, he too wanted to apologize.

"Nah, he'll be fine, plus we finally have the dojo free." Raph wanted to, but didn't want to admit it.

They stared at the clock, hoping their brother was okay.

* * *

Foot HQ

Leo was led into a room with a large machine and a couple of foot.

"Sit." The Shredder commanded.

Leo sat as a foot ninja came forward with a tattoo needle.

"Courtesy of Stockman." The Shredder laughed as the foot symbol was engraved in Leo's arm.

They finished it and Leo smirked. "What did that do?"

Suddenly, he felt all his bones begin to move, he had felt pain before, but not like this.

Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped. Leo looked down to see the body of a human, a naked human.

"What did you do to me?!" He stopped, his voice sounded young.

The foot ninja held out a mirror and Leo's heart stopped. He was met with a skinny nine year old kid with black hair, pale skin and large brown eyes.

"It's more human DNA which worked with the mutagen to cause you to become a full human mixed with an anti- growth formula." The Shredder said then pushed Leo into the seat with the large machine over it.

A foot ninja strapped the machine to his head, flicked a switch and Leo knew no more.

* * *

At the lair...

"I can't find anything on his shell cell." Don said, frustrated and worried for Leo.

"That's cause he left it here!" Raph yelled.

"Where could he be?"

"I don't know."

Suddenly the phone rang. It was April

"Hello, April?"

'Any luck with Leo?'

"No, we don't know where the shell he is." Raph yelled.

'I'll keep looking.' Came the reply.

Don looked up and whispered "Leo, where are you?"

* * *

Foot HQ...

The Shredder watched as the former turtle was dressed and put in a hospital bed.

He stood up as the boy stirred.

"Hello, Leonardo." The Shredder whispered.

"Is that my name? Where am I?" Leo asked.

"Yes Leonardo, that is your name, I am your father, Oroku Saki, and you are at our medical institute."

"Um... what happened?"

"We were walking when a gang jumped us, they pinned me down and knocked you against a wall so hard, that you unfortunately lost your memory."

"Oh... I remember little bits and pieces."

"And what would those be?"

"Um... My favorite color is blue, I practice ninjutsu, I like katanas... that's it." Leo replied.

"Good, my son. You've healed fully now, let's get you back to your room."

The Shredder led Leo to a room with a large bed with blue covers. On the bed, there was sleep clothes, a foot ninja uniform, and a training outfit. Next to those were a pair of katana.

"Father, thank you."

"My son, anything for you. Your training will start again tomorrow. Your sister Karai will train you. Do you remember her?"

"A little, maybe. I remember the name." Leo sat down on the bed and curled under the covers.

"Do not strain my son, now get some sleep." Saki closed the door as Leo fell asleep. He liked his home.

* * *

Well, here the new and improved chapter one! Didn't expect that, did ya?

Review to know what happens :)


	2. Reunited

Yeah! Chapter 2! Thanks for the reviews! I love them! :)

Disclaimer; really? Do I have to say it? I will NEVER own tmnt!

* * *

Leo opened his eyes. At first, he was confused by where he was, then he remembered. His father had rescued him.

As if on cue, Oroku Saki walked in. "Hello, my son, did you sleep well?"

"Yes father."

"You will get dressed and then Karai will begin your training."

"Yes, father... I feel like I'm missing something, I can't remember it, but I feel like... I don't know." Leo sighed.

"Leonardo, I'm sure you'll remember in time, now we must get ready. Your first training run will be tonight."

"Already? But father..."

"You must trust my judgement, my son." The Shredder snapped.

"Yes father." Leo grabbed his training outfit and got dressed. It hung loosely on his thin frame, except for the belt tied around his waist.

The Shredder led Leo into a room where Karai was standing. "Hello, Leonardo, I trust you are feeling better?" She said.

"Better, thank you, though I can't remember much." Leo looked down as though embarrassed.

"Do you remember our training before the accident?"

"Sorry, Karai, but no."

"We will run through katas and maybe spar." Karai said.

* * *

At the lair...

"Shell! Where is Leo?!" Raph screamed.

"I'm still looking, I'm worried too Raph." Don continued to look for anything that might help find their brother.

"Man, this is our faults. If we hadn't been mean to Leo, he wouldn't have went out." Mikey began to pace frantically.

"My sons, it is not your faults. Leonardo chose to go out. But now we must find him, I have sensed that your brother is in danger." Splinter lay a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

* * *

Foot HQ...

Leo dodged another attack and leaped over Karai's head. They had run through katas and now were sparring.

Karai never knew that Leo as a kid was this good.

She ducked as a foot soared towards her head. The then swung her leg around and knocked Leo off his feet.

Before he knew what happened, Karai had her katana to his throat.

"Well done Leonardo." Karai helped him up and they grabbed their water.

"Do you really think father will let me go out tonight?"

"Leonardo, it may seem too soon, and, personally, I feel it is, but you should feel honored father would let you go out this soon after an injury, specifically to the head." Karai said. "Now go shower and get ready for your run."

Leo nodded and walked to his room to wash off.

After a long, hot shower, Oroku Saki knocked on the door.

"Leonardo, I suggest you get ready. You will be leaving soon."

"Yes father." Came the reply.

Leo got into his foot uniform and grabbed his katana.

The Shredder was waiting there in full body armour except for the helmet which he held.

"Good, we will bring some foot ninja with us and you will watch closely." The Shredder put his helmet on and began to walk with Leo right behind him.

* * *

At the lair...

"That's it, I'm going out to find him." Raph stormed to the door.

"You and us all." Don grabbed his bo staff and joined Raph at the door.

"Don't forget me." Mikey stepped up, swinging his nun chucks with determination.

They all went out to search for their brother.

* * *

Leo followed the Shredder as they ran across the rooftops. As much as he tried, he kept falling behind.

"Leonardo, hurry up now!" The Shredder commanded harshly.

"I can't father, you're going too fast." Leo panted.

The Shredder stopped and turned around. Leo could feel his glare through the helmet.

"Get over here, boy."

Leo slowly walked up to the Shredder, only to be struck on the face and sent sprawling across the rooftop.

"Never slack off, never say you can't do it and never defy me!" The Shredder yelled.

* * *

Mikey, Don, Raph and Splinter were walking across another roof when suddenly an angry cry met their ears.

'Never slack off, never say you can't do it, and never defy me!'

They all recognized the voice... The Shredder.

They ran to see the Shredder towering over an extremely small foot ninja.

"Shredder." Raph growled.

"Ah... if it isn't my old enemies."

"Where's Leo?" Raph demanded.

The smaller foot ninja slowly looked up.

"Father, what are those things?" He slowly asked.

"Shut up." The Shredder hissed at the boy.

"Father? What happened to Karai?" Don snorted.

"Quiet freaks." The Shredder hissed.

"You never answered my question. Where is Leo?" Raph took a threatening step forward.

"Somewhere..." The Shredder laughed.

"Where is he?" Mikey and Don joined.

"I'll tell you..." The Shredder ripped the mask off the small foot ninja's face, revealing a small boy, around the age of nine, with brown eyes and black hair. "Leonardo, these are the things that caused your memory loss."

Everyone's hearts stopped. Raph, the first to recover, stuttered, "L... Leo?"

"What do you want? Why did you do this to me?" Leo stepped back.

"What did you DO to him?!" Don yelled.

"Nothing, it's what YOU did to him." The Shredder laughed as he, the foot and Leo ran off.

"What just happened?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know, but we found Leo." Don said.

Foot HQ...

"I am very disappointed in you. Since you don't remember, let me remind you of the punishment of disappointment."

The Shredder punched Leo in the stomach repeatedly until the young boy was on the ground, gasping for air.

"I'm... sorry." He wheezed.

"I expect high things from my son."

"Father, what tided those things want?" Leo asked.

"They were the cause of your memory loss and wanted to finish the job."

"Why did they seem to care?"

"They wanted to convert you to their side."

"Oh, but why me?"

"We go back a while and they want to devastate me by taking my only son away."

Leo looked down, somehow, in his gut, he knew what his father had said wasn't true.

* * *

Alright, there is chapter two!

Tell me what ya think :)


	3. The Rescue

Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot of homework... And writer's block. Big thanks to 'Who am I? Well. I'm just me' and 'Rose Black Dragon' for giving me ideas.

Here we go :)

* * *

"Well, we found Leo." Mikey sighed as they trudged back to the lair.

"It's obvious his memory was erased or else he would have at least recognized us." Don said, opening the manhole.

"THAT'S the obvious thing?! He a NINE YEAR OLD KID!" Raph screamed in the smart turtle's face.

"Alright, point taken. We need to find out how to help him." Don replied wiping Raph's spit from his face.

"We need to tell master Splinter too." Mikey piped in.

"No, Mikey, we're gonna save Leo who is a human kid and bring him home and then tell Splinter, of course we're gonna tell 'im shell fer brains!" Raph replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as they walked into the lair.

"My sons, did you find anything?" Came the familiar voice of their father.

"Yeah, Shredder, he got Leo and... Don, you explain the nerdy part." Raph growled.

"Well, Master, it's complicated but somehow, Leo seems to be mutated enough to be fully human and also reversed his age because... well... he's around ten years old. It also appears they erased his memory, he didn't remember anything." Don explained, shifting from one foot to the other.

The old rat was taken back by the severity of the problem. "We need a plan." Was all he got out.

"Yeah, here's a plan... get Leo, get out, fix him and kill that pathetic excuse of a can opener." Raph growled. His hand began to reach for his sais before Don stopped him.

"How are we going to get in?" Mikey asked.

"Well, we could get April to hack into the system like she did the other time." Don suggested.

They nodded in agreement and Don pulled out his shell-cell.

'Hello?' April's voice came on.

"Hey, April. We found Leo... sort of. We need you over here now. We'll explain later." Don quickly said.

'Um... okay.' Came the brief reply before the line died.

...

After April had arrived with Casey, the guys explained what they thought had happened, leaving the two humans stunned silent.

"Are you serious?" Casey asked in disbelief.

"There is no logical reason, this reason isn't logical!" Don replied before turning to April.

"Alright, Ape. We need you to hack into the foot HQs main security. Both in and out." Don explained, gesturing April over to his computer.

"What do ya need me for?" Casey asked.

"Distraction. You, Don and Mikey will hold off whatever Shredder sends us while I grab Leo and then we get the shell outta there." Raph cracked his knuckles on emphasis.

"Got it!" April called from the computer, with Don leaning over her shoulder smiling.

"Let's go, before Don explains all the nerd stuff about hacking in." Raph ran towards, twirling his sais.

"We need to hurry before they notice anything different in security." Don said. With that, the three mutant turtles and Casey ran out of the lair.

...

As they reached the tower, Casey asked, "Uh, where is Leo in the tower?"

Don dialed April on his shell cell and soon got ahold of her.

"Hey, Ape... can you locate the living quarters in the building?... great. Thanks." He looked up. "Life is on our side, he is on floor three." Don smiled.

"Well, lets thank life later and save our bro." Mikey said as they began to scale the outside building with the gloves Don had given them that were highly magnetic. (A/N: just go with the magnetic thingy please)

When they reached the third floor, Raph, before thinking, smashed in a window.

"Raph! There are other ways of entering a building." Don chastised as they climbed into the room.

The room was dimly lit with a bed it the middle that had a blue comforter. A small boy, Leo, was sleeping in it.

Raph smiled to himself as he saw the little Leo curled up.

Their trance was broken when foot ninja began to pour into the small bedroom, waking Leo.

Before Leo could grab his katana, Raph lifted him up and slung him over his shoulder... just as the foot elite entered the room.

"Crud." Raph muttered.

Mikey, Don, and Casey leaped forward to engage them before Raph called from the window, "Forget the foot, let's book!"

They climbed out the window to be met with around twenty foot surrounding the building. One individual stuck out the most... Hun.

"Uh, dudes, what now?" Mikey asked.

"We run, fight and get Leo home." Raph said.

"What do you want with me?" Asked Leo, who was now fully awake.

"It's fine, Leo. We ain't gonna hurt ya." Raph replied smoothly.

They leaped into the crowd of foot and began to fight their way through. Suddenly, the walking continent, Hun stepped in the way and grabbed Leo.

"NO!" Raph launched himself forward along with Casey.

Don andMikey were fighting their way to Hun slowly.

Raph kicked Hun into the building and grabbed the confused and shocked boy from the dazed muscle mass.

Eventually, they lost the foot ninja and made a break for the nearest manhole.

"What do you want?" Leo quietly asked.

"Look Leo, that stuff the Shredder told ya is a lie. We're your brothers and you once looked like us too. We don't know how, but you were mutated more to be fully human. You had your memory wiped so the Shredder could give you your fake backstory. You also were sixteen years old, but obviously, something changed it." Raph explained, getting a crazy look from Don.

"I didn't know that your brain could hold three fourths of the things you just said, Raph." Don said.

"All yer dumb lectures payed off." Raph snorted as they entered the lair to be met with a hug from April.

"You're okay! And... is that Leo?!" April looked at the nine year old in disbelief.

"Hi." He whispered.

"He's adorable!" April giggled.

"My sons." Splinter came out of the shadows and took a step toward Leo.

"Um... I remember you from somewhere." Leo looked the rat up and down before quietly asking, "Is... is your name Splinter?"

Splinter smiled at his son's rememberence and knelt down to the boy's height. "Yes my son."

"That's a good sign, it's obvious being around us is sparking some memories. This will eventually lead to a full memory recovery. Now, Leo, I need to take some samples to see if I can return you to your normal state, okay?" Don grabbed Leo's hand before gently pulling him into the lab.

...

At foot HQ

"What do you mean he escaped?!" The Shredder paced in front of the foot elite in an angry rage.

"We apologize mas-" one began.

"I don't want your pathetic apologies! I want Leonardo! If you fail me one more time, I will destroy you. Stockman said certain things would spark that boys memory, I want you to get him before that happens and if you don't..." The Shredder grabbed a glass and crushed it in example.

"Yes master Shredder." They took off to find Leo.

* * *

Heh, I don't know what to think so... how about you tell me in a review!


	4. Author's note

Hey all my loyal, totally awesome readers!

So, here is what I'm going to do... I'm going to try and update this story once a week, if not, I will update it the next week.

I'm really busy and I might not always be able to update in two weeks. That is my warning... :)

Thank you all for reading :D

- 3 KiKi


	5. Memories

Hello all my loyal readers! Thanks for all the reviews! I'm so happy I'm already up to twenty two! :D

Sorry if this chapter isn't the best... I had my tonsils taken out Thursday and I'm really drowsy... so tell me what you think and I'll repost this chapter if I have to.

Disclaimer: you all know the drill, I own nothing. *exhasperated sigh*

* * *

After Don had taken some samples from Leo, Raph had put Leo to bed and watched him.

Raph had to smile as he saw Leo curl up into a small ball and fall asleep.

He walked out and was met by Master Splinter. "Is he asleep, my son?"

"Yeah." Raph sighed.

"Good, now I must discuss something with you." Splinter gestured Raph into his room.

"As you know, Leonardo was leader of this family. Because of this... incident, you will lead this team until Leonardo is better. Not only that, but you will be fully in charge of looking after Leonardo."

Raph nodded, processing the things that Splinter had said. He's leader... great. He's looking after Leo... not so great.

"Yes Sensai." He muttered as he left the room.

...

Raph was in the dojo the next day, mercilessly beating his punching bag, when Leo walked in.

"Um... pardon me." He almost whispered.

"Oh, hey Leo... yer up?" Raph was surprised by the small humans entrance.

"Yeah... you're Raph right? The tough one?" Leo asked.

Raph smiled at the rememberence and nodded. "Yeah, Leo. So, what're ya doin?"

"Well, I kinda overheard you and um... Splinter's... Splinter, is that right?" Raph nodded. "Well, I overheard your conversation and heard that you were in charge of me. So I went here."

Raph sucked in his breath when he realized how annoying this could get... but he wanted to help his brother, no matter what.

"Uh... yeah. Hey, why don't you have Mikey make you some breakfast." Raph suggested.

"Ok... he's the orange one right? The one who plays video games and has nunchucks?"

"Yeah." Raph replied before turning back to the punching bag.

Leo ran out and found Mikey, who was entranced in playing Halo, "Hey, Mikey, Raph told me to ask you if you could make breakfast."

His focus quickly broke as he realized who was talking to him. "Hey, Leo! Sure, I'll make you some breakfast, just let me save ok?"

Leo nodded, smiled and went to the kitchen where Don was making a cup of coffee. "Hey Leo, how's it going?"

"Eh, good." Leo replied.

"Have you remembered anything?" Don pushed a little.

"Um... actually, yes. I remember a lot of my training now, and I also remember... ugh, what's her name... April." Leo replied.

Don smiled. "Great, I've actually found some things that could help with your memory."

Don grabbed a photo from the table of them one Christmas. Mikey, being the goofball had been unable to keep a straight face. Raph was glaring daggers at Mikey, Don's eyes were fixed on a machine in his hands. Leo was the only one with a simple smile.

Leo smiled before almost silently whispering, "I remember that."

Don then grabbed a picture of them after the battle Nexus. Mikey was in the middle, with his trophy, Raph, yet again glaring at Mikey, Don and Leo were both smiling and Splinter had his normal unreadable expression.

Leo's eyes widened at the picture before he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Leo!" Don screamed and caught Leo's head before it smashed into a table.

Raph and Mikey ran in and freaked out when they saw the unconscious Leo.

"What the shell happened?" Raph demanded.

"I showed him a picture to help him remember and he passed out!" Don replied defensively. "Now carry him to the lab please."

Raph picked up Leo and layed him on the table. Leo then began to thrash violently.

"Donnie, what's going on?" Mikey cried.

"I don't know!" Don began to try and calm Leo down. Then, as quick as it had started, the thrashing stopped.

"Ul..mit... nja" Leo groaned.

"What did he say?" Raph asked.

"Ulmit... nja... I think... that's it!" Don exclaimed.

"What's it brainiac?" Raph asked.

"What he's trying to say is 'ultimate ninja' I showed him a picture from after the battle Nexus where he was poisoned! It must have brought back the bad memory."

"But, why would he pass out?" Mikey asked, his big, blue eyes drifting to his unconscious brother.

"Maybe he is reliving it in a way that it is semi physical... meaning he may feel the way he did when he was poisoned." Don explained.

They thought of how this would effect their brother until the horrible truth hit them... every painful moment Leo had gone through... the ambush at Aprils, the battle against the Shredder and Karai on the spaceship, the aftermath of that... he'd have to relive the pain of all of that.

"This is gonna be really hard for Leo isn't it?" Mikey whispered.

"That's why we need to be there for him." Raph replied.

"What if he goes into another coma, what if he becomes mean like after the last fight with the Shredder? What he shuts down like he did after April's place?" Mikey began to panic.

"Mikey, we'll help him through it all. We'll be there for him." Don replied.

"We need to tell Master Splinter." Raph said.

"I'll tell him. You two, watch Leo and call if he wakes." Don ran out of the room.

Mikey looked to Raph. "This will be hard, won't it?"

"Don't worry, Mikey. If anyone can pull through this, it's Leo."

* * *

Sorry if it was slow. I'll update soon. :D

Review please... I love them! :D


	6. More Memories

Hey there all my awesome and loyal readers! :)

Rose Black Dragon: yeah, I didn't like that season either :( but you'll have to wait and see... MUAHAHA!

Yukio87: YAY! I'm glad you like my story :D those kinds of reviews always make me smile.

NokaKomi: thanks! I'm happy you think it's awesome :)

Guest: thanks for the enthusiasm! Here's your update, I can't deny the puppy eyes

Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot on my plate but its getting better so you can expect quicker updates from this happy kid :)

Me: Alright, I don't own the guys *trying to stay calm... fails* FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT?!

Leo: unless you want to be sued or something, everytime.

Me: NOOOO!

* * *

Raph stared at Leo's small body. The small rise and fall of his chest indicated sleep. After agreeing it was safe to move him, Raph had carried Leo into his bed and was now sitting beside him.

He was brought out of his trance when he saw his older and at the same time youngest brother's stirring.

"Mph?" Came the muffled noise.

"Hey, Leo, it's Raph. You're um... big bro." Raph decided to ease into memory related things (everything) slowly so they wouldn't have a relaps of the ultimate ninja freak out.

"Is he here?" Leo sat up, looking almost alert.

"Who, bro?" Raph became concerned quickly at normally calm brother's behavior.

"Him, the ultimate ninja. Is he here?" Leo's eyes held the same panic as when he was challenged to a duel by that fiend.

"You remember him, don't you." It want a question, but more of a sympathetic statement.

"Yeah, I remember him. I also remember this samurai. He was my friend, I can't remember his name though." Leo sighed.

Raph's mind immediately flew to Usagi. Usagi had saved Leo and, according to Don, helped locate the poison. "Is his name Usagi?"

Leo's eyes flashed in rememberence before he gave a quick nod.

"It's great you're remembering, bro." Raph smiled at the nine year old. As much as Raph hated to admit it, this version of Leo was really starting to grow on him.

"What happened last night? I felt like when the ultimate ninja poisoned me." Leo asked quietly.

Raph's heart dropped. He had wanted to stay away from the subject as much as possible. "Well, Leo. The thing is, as you remember some things, you will feel 'em too. You were physically re-experiencing the poisoning at the battle nexus. I'm sorry, bro."

Instead of getting upset like the normal Leo probably would have, Leo nodded silently before catching Raph off guard with a comment that brought a smile to the red clad turtle's lips. "I didn't know you had some of those words in your vocabulary."

Raph had to laugh, Leo was beginning to sound like Leo again. "Leo, I'm getting this feeling that you remember more than you're telling Don."

"I remember most of our childhood which is pretty nice. I-" Leo was cut off by Raph who had caught sight of something on Leo's arm.

"What's that?" Raph asked, grabbing the limb before gasping in shock. Leo's arm was covered in cuts and the cuts were spreading onto his plastron.

Instead of answering Raph, Leo remained silent... as if n a trance.

"Leo?" Raph looked up to see his brother's eyes glazed over, staring into space.

Leo suddenly began to convulse, screaming. "DON! MIKEY! GET OVER HERE NOW!" Raph yelled.

Leo's seizure stopped, same as before and he started murmuring noises. The noises began to form into one sentence. The sentence that had haunted Raph's nightmares time and time again. "He's back, the Shredder"

Raph realized what was happening. Leo was remembering the ambush at April's.

Don and Mikey made it to the room to see Raph cradling Leo and whispering soothing words to the small human.

"What happened?" Don asked quietly.

"He remembered the ambush at April's. he went limp after a while. I have a feeling he's going through the coma right now." Raph's voice was little more than a whisper.

"Oh." Mikey looked at his younger brother with sympathy before joining Raph on the bed.

"He'll be ok, the physical stuff will happen quicker than it did in real life and the memory fits won't last more than a few minutes." Don sighed.

"Guys?" Everyone turned to see Leo's eyes fluttering open. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah bro, what about you?" Mikey smiled.

"Good as it gets." Leo cracked a smile before his face turned dark. "Did that really happen?"

"Yeah, Leo. It happened. But that's in the past. It's fine now. April's shop is rebuilt and everything, your swords are fine." Raph smiled as he explained the circumstances to Leo.

Leo nodded before sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed.

"Leo, I'd be careful, you've had two memory lapses (A/N: not quite sure if lapse is the correct word.) in twenty four hours. You might want to take it easy." Don placed a steadying hand on the boy's shoulder.

"But-" Leo started before being cut off by Raph.

"Rest, you stubborn little kid." Raph ruffled Leo's hair before herding Mikey and Don out of the room. "Yell if ya need something."

He flicked the light off and Leo fell into a nightmarish sleep.

* * *

Alright, so here's how it's gonna work... I'm going to do one REALLY long chapter after this one for most of the other memories (remember the MOST) then move on.

Hope ya liked it :)

Me: Review please.

Shredder: review or else your demise will be slow.

Me: dude, take a chill pill. It's a review, not a life or death thing.

Shredder: what? I was trying to be persuasive

Me: *facepalm*


	7. The Final Memory

Hiya! I'm back! :D I might take a little while on some updates because of it being the last quarter of the school year and all.

NokaKomi: YAY! I'm so happy you think that way :D

Rose Black Dragon: yes, you WILL have to wait and see... muahahahaha

Yukio87: thank you so much for the support and all your great reviews! I'll try to update ASAP for you :)

Guest: I can never say no to puppy eyes :) thanks SO much! I appreciate your kindness.

I wish to Fly: thank you! :D reviews like yours make me smile soooooooooooo much: =D - my face.

You guys are so loyal and always are nice about it! Me happy :)

Disclaimer: NOOOO! I NEED TO OWN TMNT! Fine, I don't. *scowls and walks away*

* * *

Leo dragged his eyes open. The past couple of days, he had began (A/N: began? begun? I don't know) to remember most of his memories. It was painful at times but gradually he was remembering almost everything.

Everything... except for their last fight with the Shredder.

Leo's eyes came into focus to meet Raph's golden brown eyes.

"Hi, Raph." He murmured.

"Hey, bro. How'd ya sleep?" Raph asked.

"Good. I feel like I've remembered most, but there's something missing." Leo sighed.

Raph's heart clenched. He and the rest of the family hoped that his remaining memory wouldn't have the same effect as last time.

"It'll come to you, in time." Raph knew that if he were to tell Leo anything that would hint it, he would need to have a tourniquet at the ready to stem the flow of blood from the reappearing stab wound.

Leo dragged himself out of the bed and went with Raph downstairs. Don was on his laptop, looking for ways to return Leo to his origional state and Mikey was making breakfast. "Hey guys." Leo yawned as he satin a chair.

"Hey Leo." Both Don and Mikey replied.

"Guys, I have a question." Leo began.

"What is it little bro?" Mikey enjoyed calling Leo 'little bro' more than he should.

"So, if we never defeated the Shredder, why is he gone?" Leo asked innocently.

The room seemed to freeze. This was the question all of them had been fearing.

"Leo..." Don began, thinking of how to put the situation they had been in as lightly as possible.

"We were all on a spaceship..." Mikey began.

"The Shredder and Karai were on there too, trying to kill the utroms." Raph continued.

"Now, remember, he's gone now and we're all safe okay?" Don cautioned. Leo merely nodded his head.

"We fought..." Mikey looked to Raph to say the next part... but Raph had no need to speak up.

Leo's eyes stared into nothingness and were glazed over. A thin, red line began to seep through his night shirt over the shoulder, quickly turning into a large, spreading stain.

The convulsions began and Leo dropped out of the chair, Raph catching his head.

Don ran and grabbed the nearest towel and began to stop the bleeding. Leo began to scream. A blood curtling, ear splitting cry of pain.

The convulsions slowly stopped and the large stab wound disappeared leaving only the red stained shirt.

"Let's get him to his room." Don whispered before Raph lifted the nine year old boy.

...

Raph continued to watch Leo toss and turn in his temporary coma. The red clad turtle hadn't gotten any sleep all night and his eyelids were beginning to droop shut.

All tiredness was washed away when Leo shot up from the bed, eyes as large as bowling balls.

"Raph? I... that... really?" Leo began to stutter.

"Yeah, bro. It happened. We're fine, he's gone and everything is normal." Raph began to rub the young boy's back in comfort.

"I treated you like that?" Leo asked.

"You were confused and hurt, but you fixed it. You're fine and we are all over it." Raph smiled.

"Really?" Leo looked Raph in the eyes, searching for any trace of a lie.

"Yeah."

The moment was inturrupted by a whoop from what sounded like Don.

They ran downstairs and wheeled into the lab. "What is it?" They asked.

"I've found a way to cure Leo!" Don smiled triumphantly.

* * *

YAY! So now Leo remembers everything! NOTE: The whole final memory continues into his time with the ancient one too :)

Review please! :D


	8. Healing of the Mind

Hey all my awesome loyal readers of total coolness!

loving leo: thanks for the review and I'm so happy you like it :D

NokaKomi: He may not be depressed, but he isn't out of the woods yet... muahahahaha!

Yukio87: thanks so much! I'm glad you think I'm that great of a writer!

Rose Black Dragon: Ahhhhh... so you remember what the brothers said! Hmmmm... you know, that's a very important memory yet I haven't put it in this story... yet. *crazy laugh*

Angst Splatter: Thanks for the help! I always love constructive criticism!

Talking taco: Yay... for now! Hahahahahahaha

Disclaimer: nope! Never have never will. '~'

* * *

They rushed into the lab to find Don on the computer smiling like a mad man.

"Well? Spill brainiac!" Raph said.

"I found out that they reversed his age with a specific formula. The problem is... only Baxter Stockman knows the actual ingredients. To get him back to a mutant turtle, we need a small blood sample of an actual turtle and a small bit of mutagen. The turtle blood will be easy... the mutagen, there's a big problem." Don said... his smile fading after every word.

"So what you're saying is basically we have the information... but half the things we need are near impossible to get." Mikey said. There was obviously a forced smile on his face.

"I'm sorry guys." Leo said quietly.

"For what, my son?" Splinter asked, laying a hand on the boy.

"If I hadn't gone on that training run, none of this would have happened."

Confused looks were exchanged before Raph said, "bro, you didn't go on a training run, you were upset. We said some... bad things and you need some air."

Leo's eyes widened before collapsing to the ground.

"Leonardo!" Splinter caught Leo's head before it smashed into the ground.

"What's wrong? I though he remembered everything!" Mikey said.

"It appears he didn't remember this. He probably assumed he was just on a training run!" Don said, looking the kid over.

"Oh my gosh... look!" Raph gasped.

Seeping out of Leo's eyes were tears.

Upon seeing that, Mikey ran out of the room, hiding the tears fall from his own eyes.

Raph, seeing that, chased after the youngest turtle.

He found Mikey curled in his bed, shoulders racking with sobs.

"Hey, Mikey. What's wrong?" Raph sat next to Mikey.

"I just... want Leo back." Mikey cried.

"I know. He'll be fine soon enough." Raph said.

"How do you know that?... it's going to be nearly impossible to get some ooze and we would have to break into Shredders place to get the age stuff!" Mikey began to sob harder and louder.

"Look, Mikey. We need to have faith. Just because Leo isn't exactly himself doesn't mean he isn't here. He still has the personality of Leo because he is Leo." Raph said soothingly.

"But I want my big brother. I want someone who is strong enough to fight off hoards of foot. I want someone who doesn't pass out everyday." Mikey buried his face into Raph's shoulder.

A small gasp was heard from the doorway. Raph and Mikey turned to see Leo there, a lone tear trailing down his pale face. He turned and ran.

"Great! Now I screwed it up even more!" Mikey buried his face deeper as Raph rubbed circles on his brother's carapace.

"It's ok, he just needs time. He'll be fine." Raph whispered.

...

Leo turned and ran. Hurt by Mikey's words yet encouraged by them.

Leo ran into the dojo and grabbed his two katana and began to run through the katas he did at age nine. He needed to show Mikey he was the same. He could stand his own ground.

Soon he began to run through more advanced katas. He had missed this.

"Good, I can protect my brothers again." The boy whispered to himself.

...

Mikey pulled himself together after a while and began to go search for Leo. Then he heard something he never though he'd hear again.

He ran to the dojo to see Leo running through katas, not the katas he had done before he was turned into a kid, but the katas he did around age twelve.

He stopped and turned to Mikey. "Hey, bro. Do you want to spar?"

Mikey was too shocked to reply.

"You said you wanted things to go back to normal, here I am, do you want to spar or not?"

"Does Splinter know you are using your katana? Maybe you should wait."

"I'll go ask." Leo dropped the katana and ran into the lab where Splinter and Don still were.

Soon Leo came out with Splinter trailing behind him. "You may spar Leonardo, Michealangelo, just do not push him. I will be supervising."

Mikey nodded before walking over to Leo. The match began and soon, it was dead even, of course, Mikey wasn't fighting to his own ability, rather fighting like he would have at age eleven or twelve.

After a while of fighting, Leo began to grow tired. His muscles burned and his movements weren't as quick. With one swift move, Mikey disarmed him.

"Great job, Leo!" Mikey helped the boy up.

"Thanks Mikey." Leo smiled, but Mikey saw something under that, his eyes held what seemed to be sadness.

"Good job my sons." Splinter walked over to the two.

"Thanks sensei, I'm going to go lie down. I'm pretty tired." Leo said before rushing to his room.

"Go to him." Splinter said to Mikey. "I sense something is troubling your brother."

Mikey knocked on the door to be met with the quiet reply "yeah?"

The door creaked open and Mikey stepped in. Leo was sitting on his bed, legs curled against his chest.

"Hey bro, what's wrong?"

"I feel like a burdon. You'll have to risk your lives just to fix me. Sensei has to watch me spar you. I have to be treated like a fragile glass that, if dropped, will break. I'm supposed to protect you. Raph was right when he called me a failure. You were right when you said I couldn't do anything right. Don was right when he said I always mess things up." Tears began to slowly fall out of his eyes.

"Leo, you're not useless, you're not a burdon. If you were, we would have left you with Shredder. We care about you. I love you."

"Yeah, Leo, we all do." A new voice came from the doorway. They looked up to see Raph. "I didn't mean it when I said you're a failure. If anything, I'm a failure for not being there for you."

"You're not a failure Raph," Leo said quietly.

"None of us are, if we were, we wouldn't be here." Don said as he entered the room.

"Leo, we care about you, whether you are a nine year old boy or a fifteen year old turtle, you will always be our brother."

The all hugged but the hug eventually formed into a dog pile on top of Leo.

"Guys, feeling the love, but can you get off before I suffocate?" Leo wheezed.

"Oops," came the reply as they climbed of their brother.

"Guys?" Leo asked.

"Yeah bro?"

"Let's go get that formula from Stockman, I really don't like being a nine year old." Leo said.

"Don't rush into things, Leo. You are no where near ready to break into foot HQ." Don laughed.

Leo muttered something under his breath "fine, lets at least begin to train again."

* * *

I know it's boring! I'm sorry, next chapter I SWEAR there will be action, I just have to build it up.

Review and you get a cookie! Do it before I eat them all!


	9. If it Wasn't Bad Enough

Yay! All my reviewers... Here is a cookie... O

Yukio87: Thanks so much for reviewing the way you have :) I'll update really soon just for you

NokaKomi: predictable? With my stories? Nope... not gonna happen XD

loving leo: you like cookies? Well, here's another for you... O

I am the Blue Jay: thanks :) your pleas have been answered for here is your update.

Rose Black Dragon: Leo will most likely never get a break when it comes to fanfiction XD

Clair: Thanks so much :) a story without details wouldn't be much of a story, would it?

My OC's are coming in! Yay!

Disclaimer: no... just no. I have given up on wishing. :(

* * *

After weeks of training and studying his every move, Splinter realized something about Leo. The boy couldn't wield his katana like he did, far from it. But the boy had serious stealth. It was almost enhanced.

He had even snuck up on Splinter once.

Raph, Don, and Mikey had noticed the same thing. From that information, Raph came up with a plan.

"So we have April take down the security and we get inside. From there, we use the shadows. We will get the formula and get outta there. If things were to go wrong and we are forced to fight, which is what's probably going to happen, us three will fight while you, Leo, get the shell outta there. Wait for us by the nearest manhole but still outta sight." Raph explained the plan leaving two shocked turtles and a shocked human.

"Raph, maybe I should let you come up with plans more often." Leo said.

"Master Splinter gave me the idea, I just built on it." Raph said before pulling a face "though it was pretty genius if I do say so myself"

The three rolled their eyes and Splinter sighed, smiling.

"April, can you?" Don began.

"I'm almost in. You should head out, I'll call once the security's down."

They headed to the Battle Shell and were soon at Foot Headquarters.

Leo stared at it, wide-eyed. Raph, taking notice, layed a comforting hand on the small boy's shoulder.

Don's shell cell rang. April gave the all clear.

They slowly entered through a darkened window. They concealed themselves just in time to escape being seen by a group of Foot Ninja.

"This is gonna be hard, dudes." Mikey whispered, earning himself a smack on the head from Raph.

"Guys, quiet." Leo hissed.

They made their way down hallways and up constant flights of stairs.

They finally reached a door that Leo recognized as the science lab.

They entered the room to be met with dozens of Foot Ninja and Karai and the Shredder standing in the center. The Shredder's helmet was off, revealing the smirking face of Oroku Saki.

"You turtles are so predictable." The Shredder laughed. His cold eyes fell onto Leo who was glaring daggers back at him.

"Leonardo, my son. Surely you haven't sided with these freaks."

"Quit the act, Shredder. I know everything and I know what you did. You have no right to call me son."

"Ah, Leonardo. You are merely a child now. There is no way for you to defeat me." The Shredder laughed before placing the helmet on his head. "Foot Ninja, attack!"

As much as Leo wanted to fight, he had to trust his brothers and get the formula. He kicked, punched and dodged his way over to where he remembered the vile was. Before he could grab it, the Shredder came up from behind and grabbed his wrist. He brought the gauntlet up to the boy's neck.

"Turtles! Drop your weapons or your brother here dies."

The three stopped and stared in fear as the Shredder's claw drew a thin line of blood.

They slowly dropped their weapons in defeat.

"Good, grab them."

Raph looked ready to punch the Foot Ninja that was holding him but the Shredder's grip on Leo's arm tightened. He felt the bone snap. Leo cried out in pain. He dropped Leo's form on the ground.

The three turtle's eyes widened in fear.

"Karai!" The Shredder summoned.

"Yes, my lord?" Karai walked up, passing a glance at the boy on the floor.

"Let the Foot Elite have some fun with Leonardo, kill him. He has tired me and I want to break the others. Take Leonardo's body and drop it in an alley or somewhere. I couldn't care less where his corpse lies." The Shredder said.

Karai nodded before dragging Leo to his feet and summoning the Foot Elite to follow.

"You sick *******!" Raph screamed in pure hatred.

"As for you three, I want to see you break... one by one." The Shredder laughed.

...

Karai watched as the Foot Elite stabbed, hit and kicked the boy who had fallen unconcious long ago.

"That is enough." She held her hand up and grabbed the limp figure. The Foot Elite looked at her in confusion but allowed her to take the boy.

Karai, not knowing what to do with the injured ninja, dropped him off by a dumpster on the other side of the city.

"I'm sorry, Leonardo. You have honor and did not deserve to die in that horrible way."

...

Courtney Knapp woke up in the morning and, without waking her three kids, took the garbage out.

She stopped in her tracks when she saw blood... a lot of it. She followed the blood to a small, limp figure on the ground.

She gasped when she realized it was a small boy.

She gently lifted him up and took him inside. Thank gosh she was a nurse.

* * *

Alright, I know, I know... I added in OC's. they aren't very important though. It's still focused around Leo and his bros :)

Yay! Karai has a small little bit of honor in her!

Review and you get an imagionary... CAKE! Plus you'll get to find out what happens to Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie in the next chapter!


	10. Reality

Hi everyone! Guess what... I REACHED 51 REVIEWS! YAY!

yukio87: Thank you so much for being a really loyal reader and really meaning what you review :)

loving leo: Leo will never get a break will he?

Rose Black Dragon: Well, I need to continue the story and what better way to do so than torture our favorite mutant turtles? XD

Filly92: Thanks! I'm glad you like my story :)

I love Leo: All these questions? Well, read this chapter to have... some of them answered.

NokaKomi: *runs away from sword wielding reader* uh... well... I guess I'm dead because this story is a lot of things but sunshiny isn't one of them.

Keep up all the reviews!

So... yeah, we get to learn more about my OC, and we are actually going to have someone other than Leo be tortured (stop the presses!)

* * *

Leo slowly dragged his eyes open. He was met with blinding light and a woman staring at him. Concern was filling her eyes.

"Am I dead?" Leo asked. Of course he wasn't dead, no one could be in this much pain and be dead.

"No, sweetheart. You aren't dead. I'm Courtney and I found you outside. Can you tell me who you are and what happened?"

Leo was unsure at first but saw in her eyes that she wanted to help him.

"I'm Leo, or Leonardo. I don't have a home, I was walking along the streets when a... gang jumped me and beat me up." Leo made up the story off the top of his head.

"Do you have any family?" Courtney continued to ask.

Leo's thoughts immediately went to his brothers. Te Shredder had them. Splinter would be worried out of his mind.

"I... uh... no. My mom abandoned me at the hospital and my dad died when I was four. I didn't want to be sent to the orphan house so I ran away and lived on the streets my whole life." Leo was actually impressed with the story he came up with.

"Oh, Leo. I'm sorry, well I found you and I took care of your wounds. You were pretty beat up. A lot of cuts and a broken arm. You can stay here as long as you want." The woman gave a sympathetic smile before asking, "how old are you?"

"Nine." Leo said.

"Well, Leo, you're going to be here for a while considering your condition." Courtney smiled.

"Mom! We're home from school! You said you had a surprise!" A girl walked into the room. She looked to be around the age of thirteen. She was followed by two others who looked to be around the same age. All girls. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw the young boy. "Who's he?"

"Rayn, Dyane, Marissa, this is Leo. I found him last night." Courtney said to her kids.

Concern filled all of the girl's faces. "What happened?" Marissa asked tentatively.

"He was jumped by a gang. He is going to be recovering here for a while." Courtney explained.

"Doesn't he have family?" Dyane asked before walking over next to her mom.

"No, he's an orphan." Courtney said sadly.

"How old is he?" Rayn knelt down beside Leo.

"Nine," Courtney replied before kneeling too.

"I'm sorry, Leo, wasn't it?" Dyane said.

"Yeah, it's fine. I appreciate your hospitality but I have to go. There's something I need to do." Leo began to get up but pain hit him in the chest and he fell beck with a grunt of pain.

"Leo, you needed a lot of stitches on your chest. You won't be able to move a whole lot." Courtney warned.

"But-" Leo began.

"Rest, kid. Everything will be fine." Rayn laughed as she, her sisters, and Courtney walked out of the room.

...

Raph woke up to see Mikey and Don hanging by chains on the wall opposite him. It didn't take him long to realize he too was chained. The chains were positioned just so their toes could touch the ground, in a word, it was painful.

All he remembered was being drugged by foot ninja after watching Leo being dragged to his death.

The reality hit him full force...

Leo was dead.

The tears came immediately. His brother, after all the things he had been through, was gone. He wasn't even given a chance.

Raph had failed him.

How would he tell Splinter?... if he would ever get the chance.

His sadness was replaced by hatred, pure hatred. He hated himself for not being able to save Leo. He hated the Shredder for killing Leo and capturing him and his brothers.

He was brought out of his loathing by Don and Mikey stirring.

"Rph?" Mikey slurred as he drew his eyes open.

"Hey Mikey," Raph quickly wiped his tears on his arms so his brothers couldn't see.

"You don't have to hide the tears, Raph." Don said sympathetically before breaking down and quietly sobbing himself.

"I can't believe he's gone." Mikey said through the tears running down his pale green face.

"Let's get out of here and finish the Shredder once and for all, for Leo." Raph said. His eyes were firm yet held unshed tears.

The door opened to reveal the Shredder.

"Ah, you're awake, freaks." His cruel laugh sent Raph over the edge as he struggled against his chains.

"Uh uh, Raphael, I wouldn't do that if you value Michealangelo's life." The Shredder put his gauntlet to the orange clad turtle's neck.

Raph immediately stopped struggling. He wasn't about to lose another brother to this monster.

"That's a smart turtle." The Shredder said as if talking to a dog.

"Let us go." Don said firmly.

"And why would I ever do that?" The Shredder brought his mask close to Don's face.

"You've already broken us by killing Leo. You may as well just let us go, we'd fall apart on our own." Don said.

"Ah, little turtle. I want to see you break, not just have the knowledge I broke you, but watch you slowly deteriorate into nothing." The Shredder watched as Don's face contorted into a mask of anger.

"Like we would let you have the pleasure." Raph glared.

"Oh, Raphael, don't you see? I didn't even do this! I am not at fault for this whole incident." The Shredder turned to face the red masked turtle.

"I don't see anyone else mutating brothers into nine year old kids then killing them." Raph said, choking slightly on the last part.

"But who caused him to go out?" The Shredder taunted, looking each turtle in the eye.

Raph had to suppress a tear. He knew if he hadn't said those hateful words, Leo never would have turned into a kid.

"I see it in your eyes, the guilt, the knowledge of who is really at fault for Leonardo's death." The Shredder sneered.

"You." The Shredder shut the door to let the pain seep into the three brothers.

* * *

Well, not my best work but if you review I will not only give you a cookie but give you an awesome chapter really quickly :)

this chapter was kind of off topic from the rest of the story, but just wait... you'll see what this is for :)


	11. Sound the Alarm

Hello my turtle fans who read the authors notes before the story!

yukio87: Thank you so much! It feels amazing that you think that! It really gives me the confidence I need! You're amazing as well as a writer... even your reviews are well written! Thanks for the support :)

Loving Leo: yeah, I figured Leo couldn't be the only one being tortured so... Raph, Don, and Mikey are now getting it full force!

Talking Taco: you'll just have to read. I can't tell you if Leo rescues them or not! That would ruin all the fun in cliffhangers!

NokaKomi: *runs faster* dude! If you kill me, I won't be able to finish the story so it won't ever have a happy ending! Cut a writer some slack!

ZrosesFMAfan1: thanks so much! I'm happy you like it :)

Remember, everyone, more reviews = faster update!

Disclaimer: I OWN THEM! *gets smacked upside the head* fine, I DON'T OWN THE TURTLES *angrily stalks off*

* * *

Raph's POV

I dragged my heavy eyes open. It had been what seemed like forever since he was actually free. Don estimated we had been here for a month and a half. A month and a half of Splinter probably searching to find us all yet hoping we will just return to the lair. A month and a half of us being beaten. We had been used as training dummies for the foot, science experiments (no dissection, thankfully), and so many more things. The worst though, was Leo had been dead for a month and a half.

End of POV.

The Shredder walked into the room. He looked around at the three broken battered turtles in front of him.

Raphael had bruises scattering his body along with some cuts. His wrists were raw flesh from the chain digging into them. His shoulders were dislocated. Raph looked up and glared at the Shredder with a look of pure hatred.

Donatello was just as bad. He had a large cut across the side of his face, thanks to the Shredder's gauntlet. One wrist was bent at an odd angle, making it all the more excruciating to be hanging from the rusty old chains. Don stared at him with the same hatred that Raph held.

Michealangelo had it easy, in a way. He had escaped multiple beatings by sacrifice of his brothers. His hands were torn apart from trying to get out of the chains and getting to his brothers. Mikey avoided the gaze of the Shredder and looked guiltily at his two remaining brothers.

"How are my little pets today?" The Shredder laughed the same cruel laugh he had always greeted them with. He stalked over to Mikey.

"Michealangelo, didn't that rat ever tell you it's rude to not make eye contact?" He yanked Mikey's head around to face his own before tightening the chains around Mikey's wrists. "Don't make the mistake again. This is a warning."

Mikey glared daggers at the Shredder, containing the hurt of Master Splinter behind the hate.

"I have a special treat for you today." The Shredder hissed.

Raph, Don, and Mikey exchanged worried glances. The last time Shredder had said that, he had brought the Elite in and had them talk about how it felt to kill Leo.

That was when they had realized the Shredder knew that torturing them mentally would break them faster.

"You all know your pathetic rat," The Shredder cackled at the somewhat terrified faces at the beginning of the sentence. "He tried to rescue you all."

"He's toying with us, it isn't true," Raph whispered, not loud enough for Shredder to hear, but loud enough for his brothers to.

"We fought, and he fell, I had my gauntlet through his stomach. I had his blood flowing onto my arm. I felt his body shudder and go limp." The Shredder threw a piece of Splinter's robe on the ground.

"Where's the body? If you really had killed him, then you would have brought us the body." Don knew by the Shredders slight lack of response that Splinter was still alive.

After a quick moment, the Shredder replied, "I threw out the body, you didn't deserve to see it. In fact, when he found out Leonardo was dead, he gave up. That's how I killed him. He died in such dishonor his body didn't even deserve to be brought to his own sons." The Shredder replied.

"Splinter wouldn't do that." Mikey hissed quietly. His eyes held such loathing that even Raph was surprised.

"I can assure you, he did." The Shredder took a menacing step toward the orange-banded turtle before leaving the room.

"It's a lie," Raph smiled. "That fabric is barely worn, Splinter's is way more worn and dirty. This one isn't. It doesn't take a genius to see that."

"Raph's right," Don agreed with a smile that hadn't appeared in six weeks.

"If only he was wrong about Leo." Mikey murmured.

Raph and Don nodded in silent agreement.

...

Leo's eyes opened to the smell of bacon, eggs and coffee.

He was going to get out tonight. He was getting his arm cast off and his stitches removed. He needed to rescue his brothers.

"Hey there, Leo," Courtney said from the kitchen.

"Hey," Leo replied.

Leo had told Courtney everything after seeing the trust in her eyes.

"So you're going tonight?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, I have to rescue my brothers." Leo answered.

"But won't you need a weapon?" Courtney was shocked she was asking a nine year old this, but he was different... very different.

"That would be helpful, yes. That's why I'm going to go see my father. He needs to know we're alive." Leo said.

Courtney felt so much sympathy for the boy. He had been through so much and was far too mature for his age. Even his original age.

"Alright. Be careful, your arm is still healing and all your lacerations have just recently healed." Courtney warned.

"I know, but it's not so much being careful. Is being prepared. My brothers and I were careful last time and it didn't work out," Leo seemed to quiet down at the last part, out of guilt. "It's being prepared."

"Leo, it's not your fault. How were you to know that your enemy was ready? Don't blame yourself for anything. It won't help, just get in the way."

Leo nodded, knowing the truth of that all too well.

"Well, lets get the cast off first." Courtney said.

...

After all the stitches were out and the cast was off, Leo said a quick goodbye to Courtney.

"I'll visit you, okay?" Leo said.

"Goodbye, Leo, good luck." Courtney said as Leo disappeared down the fire escape.

After running for a few blocks, he recognized where he was. He went to the nearest manhole cover and jumped into the sewer.

Leo only had to walk about five minutes before reaching the lair. When he got inside, he found Splinter there, sitting on the couch. He looked as if he had aged a lot and looked really sleep deprived.

His eyes lit p with life when he saw his son.

"Leonardo! Where have you been, my son? Where are your brothers?"

"Things didn't go as planned. The Shredder captured the others. A woman was nice enough to help me or else I would be dead." Leo said solemnly.

"We must find your brothers." Splinter said.

"I'll go, Sensei. It's between me and the Shredder. But first, I must meditate." Leo knelt down before the rat could respond.

He touched one of the healing wounds, just as he had done when he was finding his brothers. He was brought back to the room where the Elite had meant to kill him.

He watched as Karai told them to stop, saving his life.

That was all the information he needed.

He brought himself out of the meditation to be met with Splinter's gaze.

"Something I learned from the Ancient One." Leo quickly explained. "Sensei, can I have a weapon? I'll need one."

Splinter went and grabbed a spare pair of katana and handed them to his son.

"Be careful, Leonardo. Use the shadows." Splinter laid a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I know, sensei." Leo bowed before sprinting off towards the Foot Building.

...

Leo quietly snuck past the guards, only to hear the oncoming sound of foot soldiers.

Leo hid in the shadows quietly before remembering when he was the Shredder's 'son'.

The Shredder had given him a foot uniform. With any luck, it would be in his old room.

He quietly snuck into the room to be met with the bed, still crumpled from when his brothers had first rescued him and his small foot uniform folded neatly in an open drawer. Leo smiled at his luck before putting it on and walking out.

He kept a low profile just because he didn't want any Foot Ninja wondering why he was so short.

Once he got to the level he knew was for prisoners, thanks to the Shredder's tour of the building when he was brainwashed, he looked in every window.

He reached one in particular with the door open, he peaked his head in to see his brothers, in there, but The Shredder stood there too, his back to the hallway, talking to the three turtles.

Leo quickly ran and hid just as the Shredder walked out of his brothers' room.

After he was sure the coast was clear, he silently crept to the door. When he tried opening it, he found it to be locked.

"Great," Leo muttered under his breath. "Just great,"

Leo studied the door to find that, unfortunately, it was a lock designed by Baxter Stockman, way beyond his ability to crack. The door, from what he saw was about three inches thick so there was no way in shell he could break his way in there.

He knew there was only one way to get the combination... steal it from Stockman.

"Why can't I just rescue my brothers? Why does there always have to be complications?" Leo asked himself as he began to Stockman's lab.

Half way there, Leo remembered Karai. Maybe, just maybe, she could help him.

Leo considered the risks. If Karai did help him, then he would increase his chances of rescuing his brothers, but if she would betray him, then he would be toast.

Leo made his desicion and headed to Karai's room.

He opened the door to find Karai running through a kata. She stopped the moment she heard the door open.

"Foot! What are you doing in here?" Karai asked angrily.

Leo took the mask off. Karai's expression changed from anger to shock.

"Leonardo? What are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Rescuing my brothers, will you help me?" Leo replied.

Karai nodded.

"I need you to ask Shredder if you can see my brothers, I'll be a Foot Ninja and will be with you. Okay?" Leo asked.

"Alright." Karai said.

As Leo walked out, Karai hit the alarm button that silently alerted her father and the Foot Elite of Leo's presence before following him down the hall.

* * *

Bum bum bummmmmm... I'm evil!

Jeez this was a long chapter! O.O

Happy early Easter!


	12. Red Alert

Hey there awesome people of fanfiction!

Guest: Karai is kinda like that, I guess

yukio87: I'm just so happy that you think that way! I makes me feel so happy and every time I read your reviews, I feel more and more confident! I hope you like my update!

lunexa: I am evil... MUAHAHAHA! Since you said please, here's your update :)

Loving Leo: What would a fanfiction writer be without an evil side?

Talking Taco: sorry, dude, cliffhangers just happen... it's a part of life.

ZrosesFMAfan1: YAY! You think it's amazing! That's a relief XD thanks for your review :)

I've reached 63 reviews! WOW! (That's a lot for me) thanks so much :) I tend to update sooner the more reviews I get :)

Disclaimer: can I at least imagine I own them... ya know, in my head? No? Fine. I don't own them, not even in my mind :(

* * *

As Leo walked out with Karai trailing behind him, he noticed her press a small little button on her wall.

So, maybe I can't trust her, Leo thought. Maybe I can avoid anyone who comes along if she has betrayed me. I'll be on my guard.

"I will go to my father, Leonardo." Karai said as she began to head for a hallway.

"What should I-" Leo began.

"Stay there, act normal and put your mask on, I know The Foot have been informed of what you look like." Karai ordered and disappeared around a corner.

"Alright, just be on your guard, Leo," Leo muttered to himself. As if on cue, Leo heard someone behind him.

Leo wheeled around to come face to face with the four Elite Guards.

"Thought you were safe, didn't you, Leonardo? You've made our job a lot easier. Mistress Karai may have saved you that one time, but she is loyal to The Shredder. Even you should know that." One taunted, stepping forward, raising his deadly sharp weapon, preparing it to enter the small boy's body.

"Shell," Leo muttered before dodging the oncoming blade.

Before Leo could run, the one with the axe appeared in front of him in a cloud of smoke. Leo could feel the triumphant smile from under the mask. "Bring him to the Master. He will be very useful."

No! Leo's mind screamed. This isn't happening.

Before the Elite could grab him, Leo faked to the left before making a desperate dive to the right. Leo felt the hilt of a blade slam into his back, sending him flying to the ground on his stomach. Leo gasped for breath as he scrambled to his feet.

He looked up to see the Elite towering over him. Leo knew he would have to think of something fast or else he would surely die along with his brothers.

Let's put this small size to good use. Leo thought just before he dove in between the legs of an Elite and sprinted around the corner.

Leo looked for a place to hide. He noticed a group of Foot Ninja heading the opposite way.

It's my only chance, Leo thought as he quickly joined the group.

A few passed him a glance before one asked, "Did Master Shredder assign you to look for Leonardo?"

Leo nodded quickly. Thankfully, The Foot Ninja didn't ask about his height.

Leo's heart pounded to a stop when the Elite rounded the corner and stopped their group of Foot Ninja.

"Have you seen any sign of Leonardo in this hallway?" The one with the axe asked. "He ran this way,"

"No, none here, we are checking the containment area to see if he went to rescue his brothers now." The one who had questioned him said.

The Elite nodded, but not before passing Leo a glance. "You,"

Leo's heart was beating out of his chest as he stepped forward. "Yes?" Leo deepened his voice as low and real as he could.

"Take off your mask." He ordered.

Leo froze, take off his mask? He couldn't, but if he didn't, then the Elite would probably take it off themselves.

Try to make your face as unrecognizable as possible. Leo thought, he brought he cheeks in a little and as he took off the mask, tried to get as much hair in his face as possible.

The Elite with the spear stepped forward and examined the scared ninja before murmuring something to one of the Foot Ninja. "Watch this one,"

At the very moment he could, Leo pulled the mask back over his face. He had to contain a sigh of relief as he stepped back into the group of Foot Ninja.

Leo then remembered the Foot Ninja had said. This group was going to lead him right to his brothers.

Leo walked through hallway after hallway. He knew he was getting close because of the increased number of Foot Ninja watching the area.

The group of Foot Ninja Leo had been using as a shield stopped at the entrance to the main cells... one of which, contained three mutant turtles.

Leo would've snuck away if not for the constant gaze of the ninja the Elite had talked to.

After five minutes that seemed like an eternity, the one Foot Ninja pulled Leo to the side.

"Look, Leonardo, I know it's you." Leo's heart stopped. "I know because i watched your transformation because i gave you the formula. Listen to me and listen to me good. Get out of here. You can't keep this up forever. Just leave."

Leo's emotions swirled around in his head. Anger, frustration, thankfulness that the Ninja didn't turn him into the Elite.

"But my brothers..." Leo began,

"I'm still loyal to the Shredder, it's just I want you to have a chance at life. I can still turn you in. I might even if you don't get out." The ninja's voice dropped to a cold, threatening hiss.

Leo glared at the ninja before turning and disappearing into the shadows of a secluded hallway that led towards the exit.

Leo watched for minutes before walking back into a separate group of Foot.

"Let's go to the lab to check there." Leo heard one of them say.

The formula and the lock for the cell! Leo thought, excitedly.

They walked into the lab and began to thoroughly search it. Leo, remembering where it was decided to check that place first. He saw the flask and grabbed it while keeping a low profile.

Leo searched near Stockman's computer next. Leo saw a lock combination scratched on a piece or paper. On it read 'Lock number for cell 28'

Leo's thoughts drifted back to when he first saw the cell. What number was it? Leo remembered the first number being a two, all he could hope for was that the second number was an eight.

He grabbed the piece of paper and walked out of the room, thankfully unnoticed.

Leo was finally having some luck with this. Now all he had to do was get to his brothers.

Leo made his way through hoards of Foot Ninja before finally having the entrance to the main cells in view. The number of Foot Ninja were too many to count.

Leo knew he would have to get there... one way or another. What would he be able to use? Leo remembered the Foot Tech and thought back to where the Shredder showed him the suits. Unfortunately, all the extra suits were in the Shredder's main room which was most likely crawling with Foot and possibly the Shredder himself so that was out of the question.

Leo realized that he would just have to rely on his ninja skills because anything else would cause risks that couldn't be taken lightly.

He took a deep breath before making his way through the crowds of Foot. He got to the entrance and snuck in.

The (thankfully) shaded hallway provided fair hiding, at least, enough to get him to cell 28. Leo looked in to see his brothers there, looking miserable. The sight of them broken broke Leo's heart yet at the same time fueled his need to defeat the Shredder and save his family.

Leo typed in the pass lock that, unfortunately, was very long... less time to get his brothers out.

The door finally opened and he walked in. The looks from Raph, Don and Mikey tore his heart out more. Their looks were looks of pure loathing.

"What do you want?" Raph hissed.

"Come to beat us more?" Don glared daggers at Leo.

"Come to strip us of what little family we have left?" Mikey asked, his voice cracked out of the mention of death.

"No, I'm here to get you out." Leo removed the mask to receive shocked and slightly unbelieving looks from his brothers.

"This is a cruel trick." Don whispered.

"No, Donnie, it's me, Leo. They said I was dead, Shredder thought I was, but people helped me. I swear to you it's me... I have the same scars. Look at my eyes and tell me what you see." Leo prayed desperately that they would believe him after all he went through.

"Come here." Raph said. Leo walked over there. Raph looked him square in the eyes before whispering, "my gosh, it's you... Leo!"

"I have to get you out of here." Leo said as he reached for his katana to slice them free.

"Leo..." Mikey had tears streaming down his face, staring at his eldest brother with eyes that had never been so happy.

"The Shredder, does he still not know?" Don asked, smiling, yet concerned for the fact that they were still in Foot HQ.

"Unfortunately, he found out. We have to..."

"Leo! GET DOWN!" Raph screamed.

The nine year old ducked just in time to avoid a katana that would have decapitated him.

Leo spun around to see about thirty five Foot Ninja standing there and the Elite right in the front.

"Shell." Leo muttered.

"Alert Master Shredder." The Elite commanded before approaching the boy who held his katana in a death grip.

The dance began. Leo dodged, kicked and occasionally cut his way out of the cell room away from his brothers. As much as the nine year old tried to hold his ground, he was soon driven against the wall.

"This is the end for you." The Elite hissed.

Leo needed a plan. He remembered the formula he had in his suit. He grabbed it drank it. After a second, Leo felt his bones begin to grow. It was agonizing pain as he felt his bones rearrange. The Elite took the opening and brought his axe down towards the transforming human.

* * *

Wow! Long and quite confusing chapter! If you think I need to rewrite it, just say the word in the reviews and your wish shall be granted :)

Love you all :) peace out

-Kiki


	13. Only half way

WOW! I've made it to 77 reviews! =D!

I saw 'Les Miserables' and it was really good!... my mom had to mute it and I had to cover my eyes at some points though. I don't know why and I don't want to know :) but it was really good!

Big thanks to ALL my reviewers!

NokaKomi: hehe, well, wait no more!

Guest: Story?... without a cliffhanger? never!

yukio87: thank you so VERY much! :) you're amazing!

Trina Hearts: action packed is my middle name (uh... not really :P) thanks so much

ZrosesFMAfan1: hehe, you'll get plenty more action in this chapter!

Rose Black Dragon: Leo's been through a lot and will go through a lot more! Thanks for the reviews!

honkytonk-babe3: yay! Glad you like it :)

mady2120: thanks :) you are awesome! I hope I didn't kill you with the waiting.

Disclaimer: I can wish, I can dream, but I will never own it (wipes tear off face)

Fyi: um... well, you people are smart, the beginning may be confusing though :)

* * *

As the weapon came down, ready to strike Leo in the head, the sixteen year old rolled out of the way, avoiding death but unable to stop the weapon from embedding it deep in his arm.

Leo let out a cry of pain before he grabbed his fallen katana with his good arm before blocking more swords meant to kill him.

Suddenly, the onslaught of attacks stopped. The Foot Ninja spread apart, letting Karai and The Shredder through. The Shredder was dragging Raph by the tails of his bandana. Karai was doing the same with Don and Mikey.

The Shredder raised his gauntlet to Raph's neck as he began to speak, "Leonardo, drop your weapon and only you will die. If you do not, you will be forced to watch your brothers suffer before dying and you will become my slave."

Leo's eyes widened but his expression remained firm.

"Leo! Don't do it!" Raph screamed but was silenced as the Shredder brought his claw closer to his neck.

Leo closed his eyes to hide the tears as he dropped his weapons in defeat.

"Ever so humble, Leonardo." The Shredder removed his gauntlet from Raph's neck and brought it to Leo's. "Any last words, fool?"

Leo looked up and suddenly smiled at something hiding in the shadows. "Yes, you do remember that we are not the only ones in the family, right?"

The Shredder's glowing red eyes widened as Splinter leaped from the shadows and knocked Raph from the Shredder's grip, struck the gauntlet away from the human teen's neck and kicked Karai away from Don and Mikey in one swift, life- saving move.

"You will not harm my family." Splinter hissed before striking the Shredder across the midsection with his staff.

The one move caused all the Foot to rush forward towards the Hamatos.

Leo picked up the one dropped katana and began to keep as many ninja away from his harmed and weak brothers as possible.

After a while, Raph, Don and Mikey had decided to join the fight, kicking as many Foot as the could without jostling their injuries too much.

They were making headway towards the exit. The Shredder and Karai had disappeared somewhere, which was putting the Hamatos even more on edge and aware.

They made their way to a larger room where the Foot were becoming less and less.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Leo gestured to a hallway that led to the exit.

They sprinted around the corner of the hallway before stopping at the sight before them, nothing.

"You know, in the comic books, the bad guy would usually-" Mikey began before being thrown back a few feet by an invisible source.

"Foot Tech!" Don yelled in warning as they began to be attacked by what seemed to be air.

Leo was kicked back into a metallic thing. He spun around to see The Shredder standing there, he could feel the smile through the mask.

Leo dodged the gauntlet headed for his neck, but slower than usual. Leo began to feel like his joints were molasses. The wound on his arm was slowly getting to him.

"Feeling a little light headed, Leonardo?" The Shredder's cruel taunting fueled him to fight harder. Leo managed to hit the Shredder, knocking the gauntlet off his arm, sending it clattering to the floor.

The Shredder, in return, grabbed the teen by the arm on the wound and squeezed tightly before letting go.

"Pull back, let them go." The Shredder ordered before leaving a very sore and confused family.

"Why would they retreat?" Raph asked.

"Yeah, they were totally beating our shells." Mikey said, sounding very exhausted.

"Who cares, lets just go home and get these injuries tended to." Don said.

As they got back to the sewer, the turtles had time to study Leo. He was still quite thin and not the tallest but wasn't short either. His hair was the same color and hung loosely in his eyes. His brown eyes held silver tints in them.

"Leo, what happened?" Mikey asked.

"I got the formula and drank it before I was cut in half by the Elite." Leo explained. "How did you know I was in trouble, Master Splinter?"

"I had a feeling a nine year old couldn't hold his own against The Shredder and the Foot Army, no matter the person." Splinter sighed.

"Well, thank you." Leo smiled.

They made it back and Splinter began to tend to Don's wounds so he would be able to help his brothers.

After his wrist was wrapped and the stitches were done, Don stitched Leo's arm and wrapped it in gauze. It wasn't his best work due to the broken wrist but it would do. Both of Raph's arms had to be in slings because of his dislocated shoulders. Mikey had to have his hands wrapped in gauze from trying to get out of the chains. Splinter was relatively fine except for a few cuts and bruises.

"Raph, no going out or anything for three weeks." Don ordered as Raph gave an annoyed look.

"Shell," he muttered.

...

They were eating pizza that night with April and Casey. All of them were laughing at the sight of April feeding Raph because he wasn't able to while he screamed threats at them.

"I swear, after I'm better, I'll beat you all to the ground!" Raph screamed.

"As if, Raph." Mikey said. "You will never beat me, Battle Nexus Champion!"

Everyone groaned as Mikey brought up his victory once again.

"So, Leo, are you able to fight like you were before, you know, before this happened?" April asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, it's nice being back to my age." Leo smiled.

"Yeah, I missed fightn' with ya." Raph said, laughing at the glare Leo shot him.

"I miss having a little brother." Mikey sighed. "It was fun."

Everyone looked at Mikey with a skeptical expression before Mikey confessed, "Alright, I liked it for a while, but I missed you being the oldest."

"I missed... AAHH!" Leo suddenly screamed as pain shot through his arm.

"Leo!" Everyone ran to him.

"Where does it hurt?" Don asked.

Leo pointed to the cut that was covered in gauze while tears trickled out of his eyes.

Don unwrapped the gauze to see a small blinking light under his skin.

"What's that?" Mikey whispered.

"I don't know. Leo, I'll need to take the stitches out to see what it is. I think you should be knocked out for this." Don said.

Leo nodded through the pain.

Soon, Leo was drugged and unconcious. Don grabbed a small chip from inside the teen's arm.

"A tracking chip." He murmured, he noticed a small little symbol engraved in it... the symbol of the Foot.

Before thinking, Don smashed the chip into pieces. "I knew he wouldn't give up that easily." He said.

Raph, Mikey, Splinter, April and Casey ran in. "What happened, what was wrong?"

"There was a tracking chip in Leo's arm. The Shredder put it there." Don explained.

"How did it get there?" Raph asked.

"I saw the Shredder squeeze his arm pretty tight before he let us go at Foot HQ. maybe he put it in then." Mikey guessed.

"That's actually probably what happened, good job, Mikey." Don said.

"Well, I guess that's why The Shredder let us go." Raph muttered.

...

Foot HQ:

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE LOST CONTACT?!" The Shredder screamed.

"I'm sorry, Master, we can't track the turtles and Leonardo. We lost contact with the chip." The man said.

"No matter, I will find them. And when I do, they will die." The Shredder hissed before stalking off.

...

The lair:

Leo woke up slowly and was met with the faces of his brothers, his father, and his two human friends.

"Hi, Leo!" Mikey said cheerfully.

"Hi, so what was wrong?" Leo asked turning to Don.

"There was a tracking chip from the Shredder in your arm. It pushed into a blood vessel, thankfully it didn't puncture it. But we destroyed the chip and you're fine now." Don explained.

"So now you're fine and a teenager again." Mikey piped in.

Leo's eyes suddenly darkened. "Guys, I just remembered something."

"What is it?" Raph asked, sounding almost scared.

"We still need to get the mutagen to turn me into a mutant turtle," Leo said.

* * *

Yeah, you all probably forgot about that little bit, didn't you! Hahaha!

Sorry if it was bad. If you want me to rewrite this chapter just tell me, okay?

Review please!


	14. Always a catch

Hey every awesome person out there!

Sorry about the wait, had a little writers block :(

Oh! Don't forget to check out my new story, Somebody to lean on!

yukio87: oh my gosh! Thank you so much! It's my dream to be a writer and you're encouraging me to make it happen! Thank you so very very much for your support!

Loving Leo: yay! I strive for awesomeness!

NokaKomi: agh! Curse the puppy eyes! Sorry, dude, I can't make that kind of promise.

mady2120: now you can know what will happen next. No, I don't think it's weird for a 12 year old to be into TMNT, my brothers are older than that and they love it!

Trina Hearts: YAY! Always feels good to have your work be called amazing!

Rose Black Dragon: (in Splinter's voice) you ask a question that is not a question. (Normal voice.) You'll just have to read it and see.

ZrosesFMAfan1: hehe, who doesn't love human Leo action? Thanks for the review :)

Disclaimer: *shakes head in sorrow* I can not tell a lie. I don't own them.

Oh! Short chapter! You have been warned!

* * *

The room was quiet as they soaked up the information.

"We went through all that, and we're only half way done?" Raph asked, his anger bubbling up like a volcano.

"I'm sorry," Leo shrunk back a little.

"It's not your fault, it's the Shredder's. Stop blaming yourself." Don said, slinging his arm around Leo's shoulders. Even as a teen, Leo was still short, just a small inch above Mikey and a good three inches below Raph and Don.

"I know, but still, I was so helpless as a kid. I made you go through three months of torture and you thinking I was dead. It was my fault I didn't come sooner." Leo looked down in guilt.

"Leonardo Hamato, look at me." Raph commanded. Leo slowly tilted his head up. "It is not your fault, you didn't turn yourself into a kid, you didn't kidnap us, you didn't hurt us. You did your best to protect us, and it was enough. We're all here, alive and well."

Mikey nodded, fighting the urge to tease Raph about the sappy things he said. He only decided against it for the sake of Leo.

"Thanks Raph," Leo blushed, his pale skin turning a deep red.

"It's fine." Raph replied.

"So how are we going to get some mutagen?" Mikey asked, quietly.

"Well, we have two choices. One, building a spaceship and going to the utrom homeworld, two, going back to the Shredder's place and getting some." Leo replied, his voice was flat with a hint of annoyance.

"Wait, the Shredder has mutagen?" Don asked, shocked.

"I just remembered he showed me when this whole ordeal had started." Leo replied. "I wish I remembered that before."

"Do remember where it was in the building?" Raph asked.

"Yeah, that's the problem. He keeps them in his office... where he spends most of the day."

"Why is there always that annoying catch?" Mikey groaned.

"I don't know, Mikey, but I don't like it." Don replied.

"Well, let's lay low for a while and heal before making our move. We'll need to plan every possible obstacle that the Shredder could throw at us." Leo said, firmly.

The other three nodded in agreement.

* * *

Told you it was short. :)

HEY! EVERYONE! I STARTED A NEW STORY! YOU SHOULD ALL CHECK IT OUT! =D it's called Someone to lean on! Ok?... will you do it and review for it? I hope so!

Thanks everyone!


	15. One thing we didn't plan

Hey people! Sorry I didn't update sooner, I was planning on doing it yesterday, but decided on updating Somebody to lean on instead.

yukio87: hehe, thanks so much! :) I don't know what else to say, I'm so flattered.

Adrimation: yes, here is your cake *gives you giant cake the size of your head* thanks for reviewing :)

Loving Leo: yay! Perfect adjective to bring a smile on my face

ZrosesFMAfan1: of course I will add more human Leo action! :)

Black Rose Dragon: I don't know... I already have it planned out. Now I'm torn. Well, maybe I'll write a 'what if' off of this where they use the spaceship if you want :) *gives you pile of cookies* I would never forget your cookies!

I wish to Fly: yay! Well, getting the mutagen isn't exactly going to be a walk in the park ;)

RobinMakesMeHappy: AJKFFEL? Sorry, but what does that mean? Wow! I get a cookie? Thanks! You are awesome! He's my favorite turtle too! I have a pet turtle named Leo! :)

Disclaimer: IT IS MINE! MINE I TELL YOU!  
Leo: uh, Kiki, sorry to burst your rampage, but it's not yours.  
Me: *cries and runs into Leo's arms* I just... want... to own it.

Oh, just saying, the plans might not be the best... sorry, please don't flame. Plus, this may be a little boring until the end.

* * *

Leo, Raph, Don, Mikey, Splinter, April, and Casey all sat on the ground in the dojo. A large paper in front of them that showed the layout of Foot HQ.

"Alright, we need to plan anything that can go wrong and how to deal with it. Our original plan, go in and get the mutagen, and get out will go wrong, that's just the facts. It's how we will deal with it." Leo said.

"Yeah, alright, Mikey... give us something that could go wrong." Don said, all heads turned to the turtle in orange.

"Uh... we enter and get ambushed by Foot Tech." Mikey said.

"That I can handle. Before, well, you know... we got captured, I had just finished heat sensory glasses. That means we'll be able to see their movements." Don said. Everyone was smiling about Don's invention.

"What if they sound the alarm while we fight?" Mikey asked.

"We'd retreat." Leo said.

"Alright, Raph, what else could go wrong?" Casey asked, turning to the red clad turtle.

"The Shredder is waiting for us with the whole Foot army and Karai." Raph said.

The room was silent for a moment as they contemplated how they would get out of that.

"We would retreat for a while. They can't just stay in that same position forever. During that time, we'd come up with a different plan of attack." Leo said.

"What if they follow us, my son?" Splinter continued.

"We're ninja. We can run pretty fast and we would probably lose them," Don replied.

"Don, you have to remember, they're ninja too. They're just as fast. We won't be able to outrun them, or else... that one time... wouldn't have happened." Leo quieted down at the last part.

The room grew silent as they remembered that horrible day. The sound of breaking glass and Leo's pain filled scream.

"Oh, yeah." Don murmured.

The room stayed silent until Leo spoke up. "It's fine, Don, it's in the past. Anyways, maybe we would split up. We would all run for separate manholes that lead in separate directions. After we lose the smaller groups of Foot, we would meet up at one area."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, Casey, what could happen?" Raph asked.

"Uh, the Elite come and attack you and one of you is hurt."

"We defend the one who's hurt, if more of us get injured, then we retreat." Leo replied, grimly. Everyone could tell he was thinking back to the fight with the Shredder on the spaceship. Raph put his hand on the human's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"If we aren't able to retreat?" Don asked.

"We could call April and Casey, telling them the situation, and have them at least know something went wrong so they can rescue us." Raph replied.

"Babe, do you have something?" Casey asked April.

"Yeah, The Shredder attacks you and threatens one of your lives." April said.

The four brothers thought back to the night they thought Leo was killed. That exact same thing had happened.

"You give him me." Leo said. "I'm who he wants, if that's what happened, then you let him have me."

Everyone jumped at the answer.

"Listen here, fearless. There is no way in shell we are giving you to him. This whole operation is for you and there is no way it will be for nothing. It's better you be a human than you not be here at all. Get that through your selfless head before you do something stupid." Raph said in angry surprise.

Leo sat there for a moment. "Alright, but if it does happen, and we are in that scenario, I will do whatever it takes to keep you safe, whether it costs me my life or not."

"Leo, you can't-" Mikey began.

"Would you three do it? If you were in my place? What would you do?" Leo shot up.

Everyone froze. There were tears streaming down the pale teen's face. His eyes were filled with doubt, yet held determination.

"Leo, if that's going to be the case. We won't even risk it. We'll just stay here, you being human and all." April said gently.

"Then lets have it not be the case." Leo replied.

Everyone sat down. "Don, what about you, what's your situation?" Leo asked, not wanting anyone to ask for the full answer on why he was crying.

"What if... what of one of us dies?" Don asked. He thought back to when he was sent to the alternate dimension. He would never forget that.

"We'd retreat." Raph said automatically.

"No, we would grab the mutagen, kill the Shredder and then get out. We wouldn't let his death be in vain." Leo replied sternly.

Raph looked down, surprised at the harshness of his older brother's tone.

"Sorry, Raph. I just... don't want to think about that right now." Leo said quietly.

"It's okay, I don't want to either." Raph replied.

"Leo, what's your situation?"Mikey asked, wanting to not think of death just as much as his brothers,

"The Shredder attacks us. It's a simple thing, but it's the most likely to happen." Leo said.

"We fight him." Raph replied simply.

"What if he injures one of us?" Mikey asked.

"We'd defend him." Don replied.

"What if he injures all of us?" Raph asked.

"We'd retreat." Leo answered.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Everyone, lets go." Raph said.

...

April, Casey and Splinter parked the battle shell a couple blocks away from Foot HQ. The four brothers ran out into the night.

"Alright, everyone knows the plan?" Leo asked one more time.

"Yeah, fearless. We know the plan as well as we did the last three times." Raph replied gruffly as they reached the air vent that exited the tall building.

Leo nodded as they climbed in.

They navigated their way through the maze of air vents before smelling the sickening odor of chemicals.

"We're above the lab, everyone, be ready." Leo whispered before they silently removed the opening and dropped into the shadows.

They saw the small cabinet Leo knew held the canister of mutagen.

He nodded and they slowly took position. Mikey went back into the air vent to help the others up, Raph and Don stood guard, while Leo quietly snuck to the corner of the room.

Leo stared at the cabinet. He knew something was off. The Shredder wouldn't leave mutagen unguarded. Leo nodded to Don. They switched spots.

Don took out a pair of goggles and slipped them over his eyes.

This confirmed their suspicions. If someone touched the cabinet that had an unrecognized touch, an alarm would sound off through the whole building.

"It's touch guarded," Don whispered.

"I got this," Leo replied. "They had me put my hand on it so it would recognize me when this started."

Leo put his hand to it and the cabinet door slowly opened. He grabbed the mutagen and handed it to Don, who stuck it in his brown bag.

"Let's go," Raph muttered.

They all made their way to the vent when they heard the lab door swing open.

"Well well well... if it isn't the turtles and my former son." The Shredder cackled evily.

"You have no right to call me 'son', Shredder, we've been over this." Leo replied coldly before drawing out his katana.

"You have been a thorn in my side long enough, it is time to meet your end." The Shredder advanced on the four brothers.

"You know the plan, guys." Leo said as they attacked.

Mikey approached from the right, Raph from the back, Don from the left and Leo from the front.

They leaped forward as the dance began.

The Shredder almost immediately kicked Raph in the stomach, sending him flying into a shelf full of test tubes.

"Raph!" Don sprinted over. "He's unconcious and has a lot of cuts!"

"Everyone, defend Raph!" Leo screamed as he and Mikey made their way in front of their injured brother.

"You fools, you will never defeat me." The Shredder attacked, focusing mainly on Mikey. Leo realized this and leaped to help his youngest brother.

He was one second too late as the Shredder sent his gauntlet into Mikey's bicep. Mikey screamed and stumbled back.

"Don, get Raph and Mikey out of here, I'll hold him off." Leo called.

"Are you sure, Leo?" Dn asked.

"You have the mutagen, now go!" Leo demanded.

The Shredder, upon hearing this, kicked the teen boy out of the way and advanced on Don.

Don spun around just to be thrown into the wall. The sickening crunch of his arm sounded throughout the lab.

Leo's eyes widened as he ran in front of his brothers.

"Leonardo, we face off once again." The Shredder said. Leo could feel the smile from under the mask.

"Leave my brothers alone, Saki." Leo hissed.

"I can't promise anything, boy." The Shredder leaped at Leo.

They clashed, their faces inches apart.

Apart from the battle, Raph slowly drifted back into consciousness. He stared at the fight, while trying to find his sais.

His eyes locked onto his brother's for a moment. He saw they were pleading. Raph knew what he was thinking. And there was no way in shell he was leaving his brother.

That one moment of lost concentration cost Leo. The Shredder saw the opening and took it. He threw Leo against the wall, leaving the boy dazed and disoriented.

The Shredder grinned evily and thrust his gauntlet into the stomach of the boy.

Leo's world blackened around the edges.

The last thing he heard was Raph horror filled cry and the Shredder haunting laugh.

* * *

I'm evil... aren't I? Yes I am.

DONT WORRY, I'll update before all you fangirls attack me with the review cookies I give you!

I'll update sooner if you review :) *hint hint*


	16. A family

Hey guys! :D sorry for the slow update, my WiFi crashed for a while :P

Loving Leo: OMG is right :)

yukio87: I don't know how to show my thanks :) I really don't. You support me so very much :) you are amazing and thank you so very very much

mady2120: well, if it was you... it would be a whole different story :) thanks for the review

Rose Black Dragon: no cookies? You must be really worried! XD well, here's the update

Zroses: hehe, thanks :)

NokaKomi: you kill me, I kill Mikey, Don, Raph and Leo.. got that?

RobinMakesMeHappy: cool! :) thanks for the review! :)

Disclaimer: nope... if I did, Fast Forward never would have happened.

* * *

Raph stared in utter horror as his older brother was run through by the Shredder.

"Leo!" His scream ripped through his throat as Leo's eyes colored grey in pain.

The Shredder yanked his gauntlet out of the teen's stomach. Leo crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap.

"Raphael, you can run and leave your brother, or die with him. Your choice, but if you stay, the other two will share your fate." The Shredder kicked Leo's limp body off to the side before approaching the red banded turtle.

Leo looked up and muttered a single word before loosing consciousness, "go"

Raph knew he would have to, or else everyone would die. He knew that is was what Leo wanted, but it wasn't what Leo was going to get.

"Shredder, you turned my brother into a nine year old human, nearly turned him against us, made him go through every painful memory physically and mentally, captured us, nearly killed him, now possibly killed him and hurt my other brothers. There is no way in shell I am leaving here without your shriveled up utrom body lifeless in that can opener." Raph growled and lunged for his discarded and newly found sais.

"You fool, you couldn't defeat me with all four of you, now it's just you. Even your leader was defeated. He was always better than you. Always looked down on you, didn't he? He treated you like a lesser being. Now look at him, dying. You said you hated him, didn't you? You said he was useless and always got in the way. Shouldn't you be happy you're rid of him?" The Shredder cackled at the anger that laced Raph's face.

"Never... ever... talk... about... Leo... that... way," Raph spoke slowly, hissing out every word like poison.

Raph lunged at the Shredder with new found force driven by love- fueled hate.

The clashed, weapons in a tight lock.

Suddenly, Leo groaned from where he lay in a pool of his own blood, "hey, Shredder,"

Both the Shredder and Raph turned to Leo. Leo looked at Raph with a silent order.

Raph took the opening and stabbed his sai through the suit where the utrom was hidden.

"Never mess with my family." Raph said as the metal suit fell to the ground with a loud clang.

Raph ran over to Leo, tears forming in his eyes.

"Leo, please, Leo," Raph begged when he saw Leo's eyes closed.

They fluttered open, "Raph... take care... of them, please."

"No, Leo, you're going to take care of them, we're getting you out of here." Raph sobbed.

"It's... too late. I'm so sorry... I... I love you,"

"I love you too, Leo. Please... don't go, we need you."

"On the laptop, Raph, on my laptop... look in it... with the family." Leo gasped out.

"Bro, come on, you need to hang in there, Leo" Raph began begging.

"Raph... I love you... never forget... I love..." Leo went limp in Raph's arms and his eyes grew lifeless. The raspy breathing slowed to a stop.

Raph slowly sat back, too shocked to comprehend his brother's dead body.

Numbly, he carried the unconcious Mikey and Don through the air vent to the battle shell before going back for Leo's body. It was then it fully hit him that Leo was gone.

Raph made it to the battle shell with tears streaming in waterfalls.

He opened the door and Splinter, April and Casey turned.

"My... my son," Splinter stared in complete horror at his son's corpse.

April sobbed into Casey's chest. Casey stood there, in shock and sadness at the dead teen.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I couldn't... do anything." Raph crumpled down and screamed, a heart broken, pain filled scream.

...

They made it back to the lair. Mikey and Don were still unconcious. April and Casey were crying on the couch. Casey was trying to look strong but everyone saw tears slipping from his eyes.

Raph refused to let go of Leo's pale body. In the end, April and Casey had to pry Leo from Raph's grasp. Raph then crawled into Leo's room, dragged himself into the bed and held Leo's old bandana and katana close to his chest.

Splinter had gone to his room with Leo's body. He needed last words with his son, even if his son could never hear it.

April had silently treated all the wounds before crawling into Casey's arms like a child after a nightmare.

...

Mikey slowly came back into consciousness and the first thing he noticed was a stinging pain in his bicep. Then it all came back to him.

"Donnie?... Raph?... Leo?" He called out.

Don stirred beside him, "Mikey?"

"Don, where's Leo and Raph? What happened? How did we get out?" Mikey slowly looked around the room.

Don slowly got up and walked out of the infirmary, Mikey following close behind.

They saw Casey and April curled up asleep on the couch, though they didn't notice the dry tears that decorated their faces.

They went to Raph's room and found no one in there. Then they heard a light noise coming from Leo's room.

When they saw what was in there, their hearts froze to ice.

Raph was sobbing holding Leo's bandana. He looked up, eyes filled to the brim with tears.

"Guys... Leo... he..." Raph choked out before curling in on himself and making a distressed chocking noise.

"No... please, no," Mikey murmured.

"Where is he?" Don asked, tears bean to spill over.

"With... Master Splinter... after... bring everyone... here." Raph sobbed.

Mikey and Don walked numbly to Splinter's room. What they saw, made the realization come like a punch to the gut.

There, in the middle of the room, was Leo's cleansed body wrapped in a white sheet. Splinter looked up, his eyes were glistening with tears.

"My sons, come here." Mikey and Don both collapsed into Splinter, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Is he... really gone?" Mikey cried.

"I'm sorry, my sons, your brother is with my master,"

"Guys," A new, broken voice came through.

They turned around to see Raph standing there.

"Leo told me... before he..." Raph choked on his words and more tears rolled down his cheeks, "before he... left, he told me that... something is on his laptop."

Slowly, everyone, including Casey and April, made their way to Leo's room. Don turned on the computer to see a file labeled 'to my family'. When he clicked on it, a video came up.

Leo appeared in front of the screen, mutant turtle and all.

"Hi guys, so if you found this, it means you were sneaking through my room, or I was... well... killed. Let me just say, I'm sorry for leaving you. I truly am...

Master Splinter, thank you so much for your care and love. Without you, we'd still be four mutant turtles wandering aimlessly through the sewers. Don't blame yourself for my death, the only one at fault is our enemy. I love you so much father, thank you for making me who I am.

April, you are amazing, truly amazing. You helped us through so much, we cost you so much. Thank you for always being there. Keep the guys together, they need your help now more than ever.

Casey, no matter how many times you have been called bonehead, idiot, so many other things, you've been there for us the whole time. I can't thank you enough. Stay strong and make sure Raph stays out of trouble. I know he'll need you a lot. Thank you so much.

Don, I'm sorry I left you, but don't lock yourself away with your sadness. Keep inventing things and talk with the others, they'll need you just as much as you need them. Remember, don't let my death drag you down. I love you, Donnie, thank you for being my amazing, smart, kind- hearted brother.

Mikey, oh Mikey, I love you so much. I'm sorry I left, but I'm still there for you, when you have nightmares, just go into my room, I'll still be watching over you. Keep the light mood, little brother, everyone needs your innocence... especially you. Keep playing video games, but remember to train. I love you, baby brother. Never forget that.

Finally, Raph. I'm sorry I was never fully what you wanted me to be. I'm sorry that we always fought, really, I am. I want you to take over in my place. I always knew you would make a great leader. I love you so much, my brother. Never forget that

Guys, everyone, please bury me by the farmhouse. And please keep my katana, just to remember me. Don't be broken, let this bring you closer together. I'll be there, always. Never, not for a second, think that you're alone. I love you all so much. I'll see you sometime."

After the video ended, a picture came up. It was of all of them, smiling, laughing, a family.

* * *

Alrighty then! Um... I want you to tell me if this should be the end, because I can end it here or write an epilogue. Your choice.

Review please :)


	17. AUTHOR'S NOTE: READ IT!

Alright! Due to major popular demand (hehe... always wanted to say that) I'm going to write an alternate ending instead of an epilogue because even I'M mad at myself for killing Leo... so ya.

I had a mental battle with myself over if it should have character death or not... while I was doing homework... so my mind was distracted. Ya... then my WiFi crashed, my computer deleted everything, and I have a really big test in school coming up. My mind was wacked out so that chapter you just read was a fragment of my crazy stress stuff.

So yeah, lets all agree that that is NOT the actual ending and that it never happened.

The alternate/real ending will be up in like four or five days... like I said, I'm busy... and I'm moving soon so ya

- Kiki (Smile or Else)


	18. AUTHORS NOTE: PLEASE READ

Hi everyone! :)

I know you all are getting cheesed off at me for not updating. Let me explain, this has been my life for the past weeks...

- I moved houses  
- my wifi was glitchy  
- I had 3 projects and a research paper due in 1 week  
- I had to prepare for 5th grade continuation  
- I have finals next week

So I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to update until Saturday. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry to all

but I WILL update Somebody to lean on :) I have it half finished

- lots of love,  
Kiki (smile or else)


	19. MY LAST AUTHORS NOTE

Hi everyone! :)

I'm so sorry about all the delays. I've just had total writers block when it comes to the alternate ending. For now, I'll wait a little longer to write the ending (when I get inspiration).

I WILL start my other story, Guardian Family.

- love you all, Kiki :)


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